EPA Awards $1.3 Million in Supplemental Funds to Clean up and Redevelop Contaminated Brownfields Sites in the Southeast

ATLANTA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will award $1.3 million in supplemental funding to help clean up contaminated Brownfields properties. The Revolving Loan Funding (RLF) will help 4 communities in the southeast carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects. These projects will help communities create jobs while protecting people’s health and the environment.

The communities in the southeast receiving supplemental funding are:

· The Land-of-Sky Regional Council will use additional hazardous substances funds of $350,000for cleanup at the former Chatham Mill in Salem, N.C. Once cleaned, developers plan to rehabilitate the 300,000 square foot structure into approximately 150 multifamily rental units.· South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control will use its $350,000 supplemental funding for hazardous substances to clean up the Piedmont Shirt Factory site in Greenville, S.C. Once cleaned, the strategic plan is to redevelop the site and building structures as a mix-use facility; commercial development, business incubators and an assisted living center. · Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council Plans will use $140,000 in hazardous substances funding towards cleanup at the former H.D. King Power Plant site in Fort Pierce, Fla. Additionally, $160,000 in petroleum funding will be used to address the petroleum groundwater contamination at the Northwood CRA site in West Palm Beach, Fla.· Central Florida Regional Planning Council will use supplemental funds for $300,000 for hazardous substances to address the cleanup of two sites in Florida - the Old Cigar Factory in Bartow, Fla. and Old Lincoln Square Apartments in Lakeland, Fla.

Revolving loan funds specifically supply funding for grant recipients to provide loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. When these loans are repaid, the loan amount is then returned to the fund and subgranted or re-loaned to other borrowers, providing an ongoing source of capital within a community for additional cleanup of brownfield sites. The supplemental grants range in funding from about $200,000 to $400,000 with an average grant award of $300,000.

There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA’s Brownfields program targets these sites to encourage redevelopment, and help to provide the opportunity for productive community use of contaminated properties. EPA’s Brownfields investments overall have leveraged more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from public and private sources and on average, $17.79 is leveraged for every EPA Brownfields grant dollar spent.